Hair-clipping machine



(Mode1.)

- 2 SheetsT-Sheet 1.7 J. K. PRIEST.

' HAIR GLIPPING MAOHINE.

Patented May 12,1885.

2 Sheets Sh eet 2..

(ModeL) J. K. PRIEST. HAIR ULIPPING MACHINE.

Patented May 12, 1885.

UNITED STATES PATENT ()FFIGE.

JOSEPH KILBURN PRIEST, OF NASHUA, NFAV HAMPSHIRE.

HAIR-CLIPPING MACHINE.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 317,671, dated May 12, 1885. Application m h September 20, 1884. (Modehl To 61/ whom it may concern.-

Beit known that I, J'osnrrr K. PRIEs'r, a citizen of the United States, residing at Nashua, in the county of Hillsborough and State of New Hampshire, have invented a new and useful Improvement in Machines for Cutting Hair,of which the following is a specification.

My invention relates to machinesemployed for cutting hair from the heads of persons or from the bodies of animals; and the improvements which I have made consist, first, in the thumb-horn for the thumb to bear against, in combination with the stationary handle having a thumb-loop, whereby the machine can be used advantageously either with the thumb in or out of the thumb-loop; second, in the thumb-horn made capable of turning on the handle, so as to accommodate the thumb of the operator during the cutting operation; third, in the combination of the thumb-rest with the handle having the thumbloop and the horn,whereby the forward end of the thumb is stayed while its rear portion is hearingagainst the horn; fourth, in a peculiar removable gage-plate, in combination with the comb and cutter'plates, whereby the gage-plate is guided upon the teeth of the comb-plate, firmly forced against, and the guards of its teeth made to extend beyond,the ends of said teeth, and is confined in position by means of a set screw, and thus the extra or gage plate and comb-plate are firmly held together against separate longitudinal or up-and-down movement, and are so closely fitted upon each other that hair cannot get between the two plates to interfere with the movement or action of the machine; fifth, in the combination of a rest for the first finger,with the movable handle having a loop, and with the stationary handle having a thumb-rest, thumb-horn,and a thumb-loop; and, sixth, in a novel combination of the several parts of thc hair-cutting machine, as hereinafter described.

In the accompanying drawings, Figure 1 is a side elevation of my improved hair-cutting machine; Fig. 2, a top view of the same, with the cap which covers the coiled portion of the spring, its boss, and the pivot of the movable handle shown in horizontal section. Fig. 3 is a section in the line as w of Fig. 1, of the stationary handle and its turning thumb-horn. Fig. at is a broken sectional view in the line y 3 of Fig. 2. Fig. 5 is a detail plan view of the extra or gage plate. Fig. 6 is a plan view of Fig. 1 with cap and top plate removed. Fig.

7 is a section in the line z z of Fig. 2. Fig. 8 is a side view of machine having a modified form of gage-plate, the same being constructed and applied above the clamp, cutter,

and comb plates, and with only its gage-teeth 6o underneath or below the plane of the teeth of the comb-plate. Fig. 9 is a top view of Fig. 8.

A in the drawingsis the comb-plate; B, the

cutter-plate; O, the clamp or top plate; D, the

extra or gage plate; E, the stationary handle, F, the movable handle, and G the coil-spring of my improved hair-cutting machine. The cutter-plate B is provided with oblong slots (1, and is confined to the comb-plate A by means of bolts 1), which extend through the comb and cutter plates and also the clampplate, and receive nuts 0 on their ends, and by means of the oblong slots it is allowed to re ciprocate a proper distance between the comb and clamp plates, as usual. On the top of the comb-platc, near its rear edge, the stationary handle E is firmly fastened by screw-bolts (l, which pass up through side pillar-block-like lugs 0, cast on ahorizontal base-plate portion, f, of said handle.

From the top of the base plate portion f a cylindrical boss, projects upward, as shown, and this boss,as well as the portion f,is provided, centrally, withia circular passage for the reception of a pivot, h, of

the movable handle F, said pivot being formed on a horizontal portion, z, of the handle and extending up through the base-plate. The horizontal portion 13 of the handle F passes under the base portion f, between the pil o lar-block-lil e lugs e, and enters a vertical open slot, j, in the back edge of the cutterplate 13, and serves as the connection by which the movable handle reciprocates the cutter- Around the boss 9 the coil-spring G 5 plate. is applied, and one of its ends is fastened firmly to the base-plate by passing it into a hole, k, in said plate or in any other suitable way. The other end of the spring is carried of the hand is relaxed upon the movable handle said handle opens from its closed position to the position shown in Fig. 2. This arrangement of the spring upon the boss of the stationary handle gives it great volume and increased freedom, and liability of breakage is avoided, while compactness and cheapness in constructing and fitting the parts are attained.

The spring, boss, and pivot are inclosed, and the spring kept in position by means of a cap, H, having a slot, '6, in its periphery for the accommodation of the outside or free end of the spring. This cap is fastened in place by means of a screw, on, which passes through its top into the pivot of the movable handle, as shown, and through a hole inthe cap oil can be supplied to the pivot, boss, and spring.

It will be seen from Fig. 1 that the handles are inclined, the movablehandle'having a little greater inclination than the stationary one. Each handle has a loop, a, and on the handle F an index or forefinger-stop, a, is formed, while on thehandle E a thumbrest, n, and a thumb-horn, I, are provided, as shown. The horn turns on its screw-fastening and thus accommodates itself to the necessary motions and positions of the thumb during the operation of the machine.

The horn on the stationary handle, having a loop, enables the operator to change from the loop to the horn, and vice versa, and thereby rest his hand. This will be appreciated when it is stated that operators can use both loops of the handles as they would a pair of shears, a part of the time, and then change the position of the hand by withdrawing the thumb from the loop and placing it against the horn I and rest if; and by having the horn to turn on its pivot the operator is en'- abled to have it properly fit his thumb, if it should not do so at the time it is grasped by him. An important advantage is secured by the addition of the turning-horn, it lessening the fatigue of the hand, and by its turning action adapts itself to the fact that no two hands are just alike, as well as the fact that different persons grasp the machine in entirely different ways. If the horn were not provided, or if it were stationary, this could not be well provided for. Furthermore, different persons, while cutting the hair from the head, hold the machine in various positions,

and each position may require a new grasp, all of which can be done with the turning-horn and still have a proper and firm hold upon the machine.

The gage-plate D, which bears upon the head of the person and regulates the length to which the hair is to be cut or clipped, is formed with teeth corresponding in number with the teeth of the comb-plate, and the rear shoulders, 19, of these teeth are made to slant so as to form short guards which overhang the front ends of the teeth of comb-plate, as shown in Fig. 1, and thus a very close fit can be effected and at the same time the combteeth cannot rise up or the teeth of the gageplate descend. The thickness of the plate de termines the length of cut of the hair, and different plates of different thicknesses will be furnished with each machine. The gage-plate is formed with side guides, g, which are beveled to correspondto the beveled edges of the comb-plate as shown at 4', in Fig. 4. This construction effects a nice connection between the comb and gage plates and they cannot separate by a vertical movement of one upon the other. The rear extension of the .gage-plate is formed with a vertical lug, s, and through this lug a elam )-screw, 8, passes, and by screwing up the screw the teeth of the gageplate will be drawn up tight against and slightly over the teeth'of the comb-plate, the fit being so snug that they become virtually as one, and hairs cannot get between the combplate and gage-plate.

In Figs. 8 and 9 Ihave illustrated a gageplate constructed to be applied above the clamp, cutter, and comb plates, and inthis case the gage-plate is shown provided with two extension side bars having horizontally bent ends, with clamp-screws passed through them and bearing against the pillar-blocklike lugs of the stationary handle. The shouldered portions of the teeth of this modified gage-plate are extended downward slightly under the ends of the teeth of the combplate and below the plane of the base vof said plate, and this extended portion fits with its shoulders against the ends of the teeth, and also bears upon'the head of the person, so as to serve for gaging the length to which the hair is to be cut.

I make no claim to anything shown in Letters Patent numbered, respectively, 238,353, 216,998, and 299,580, which are here referred to as indicating the state of the art. I would state that while I am aware that a thumb-horn used separately from a thumb bow or loop, and a thumb bow or loop used separately from a horn, are not my invention, I believe it is new to combine a thumb-horn and a thumb bow or loop in a hair-cutting machine. I also believe it is new to make the thumb-horn to swivel or turn, or so as to be adjustable, and this feature is veryimportant, as byit the one machine is adapted for different-sized human hands, and to the requirements of the users of the machine. I also believe it is novel to combine the thumb-rest with a rigidly-fastened handle having both a thumb horn and loop. I also believe that there is novelty in the combination of the movable handle provided with a loop and a rest, and the rigidly-fastened handle having a thumb-rest and both a horn and loop 5 and I believe that it is novel to make the gage-plate having suitable guides on its edges with beveled shouldered teeth extending beyond the front ends of the teeth of the comb-plate, and to'provide some suitable means-as a set-screw or equivalent devicefor drawing and holding the gage-plate snugly against the front ends of the teeth of the combplate, so that its teeth over or under hang the teeth of the comb-plate, as shown and hereinbefore described, this construction preventing the hair getting between the gage-plate and comb-plate, and thus lessening the labor as well as avoiding inaccuracy in. the cutting operation, and enabling the operator to always out the hair to the desired length.

\Vhat I claim as my invention, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is

1. In ahair-cntting machine, a thumb-horn, I, in combination with the handle E, having a loop, a, and rigidly fastened to the combplate A, substantially as and for the purpose described.

2. The turning thumb-horn I on a rigidlyfastened handle, E, substantially as and for the purpose described. a

8. The combination of the thumb-rest a" with handle E, rigidly fastened, and having a thumbhorn, I, and loop a, substantially as and for the purpose described.

4. The removable gage-plate D, provided with guide-lugs on its side edges, shouldered teeth with guards extending beyond the front ends of the teeth of the comb-plate, and a clamping-screw, s, in combination with the comb and cutter plates A 13, substantially as and for the purpose described- 5. The combination of the movable pivoted handle F,having a loop, a, and a stop or rest, n, with the rigidly-fastened handle E,hav1ng a thumb-rest, a, horn I, and loop a, substantially as and for the purpose described.

6. The combination of the confining slotted cap with the coiled spring, two handles, and clamp, cutter, and comb plates of the haircutting machine, substantially as described.

JOSEPH KILBURN PRIEST.

Witnesses:

T. SMITH, B. B. WHITTEMORE. 

